Prospects of Using Hydrocarbon Deposits from the Autochthonous Miocene Formation (Eastern Carpathian Foredeep, Poland) for Geothermal Purposes

Anna Chmielowska, Anna Sowiżdżał and Barbara Tomaszewska
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Anna Chmielowska: Department of Fossil Fuels, Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection, AGH University of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza 30 Avenue, 30-059 Kraków, Poland
Anna Sowiżdżał: Department of Fossil Fuels, Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection, AGH University of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza 30 Avenue, 30-059 Kraków, Poland
Barbara Tomaszewska: Department of Fossil Fuels, Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection, AGH University of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza 30 Avenue, 30-059 Kraków, Poland

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 11, 1-28

Abstract: There are many oil and gas fields around the world where the vast number of wells have been abandoned or suspended, mainly due to the depletion of reserves. Those abandoned oil and gas wells (AOGWs) are often located in areas with a prospective geothermal potential and might be retrofitted to a geothermal system without high-cost drilling. In Poland, there are thousands of wells, either operating, abandoned or negative, that might be used for different geothermal applications. Thus, the aim of this paper is not only to review geothermal and petroleum facts about the Eastern Carpathian Foredeep, but also to find out the areas, geological structures or just AOGWs, which are the most prospective in case of geothermal utilization. Due to the inseparability of geological settings with both oil and gas, as well as geothermal conditionings, firstly, the geological background of the analyzed region was performed, considering mainly the autochthonous Miocene formation. Then, geothermal and petroleum detailed characteristics were made. In the case of geothermal parameters, such as formation’s thickness, temperatures, water-bearing horizons, wells’ capacities, mineralization and others were extensively examined. Considering oil and gas settings, insights into reservoir rocks, hydrocarbon traps and migration paths issues were created. Then, for evaluating geothermal parameters for specific hydrocarbon reservoirs, their depths were established based on publicly available wells data. Thereafter, the average temperatures for selected reservoirs were set. As the effect, it turned out that most of the deposits have average temperatures of 40/50 °C, nonetheless, there are a few characterized by higher (even around 80 °C) temperatures at reasonable depths.

Keywords: earth sciences; geothermal energy; petroleum field; eastern carpathian foredeep; Poland (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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